President Bharrat Jagdeo is one of four heads of state that Russian President Vladimir Putin has bestowed the Pushkin Medal on for recognition of achievements in the areas of culture, education, literature and the arts.
A press release from the Czech News Agency (CAN) said the other winners are Czech President Vaclav Klaus, Mongolian President Nambaryn Enchbajar and Croatian President Stipe Mesic. The awards were announced on Thursday. The honour is usually given to mark the achievements of foreign Russian studies scholars the CNA quoted the Kremlin Press Department as saying.
Putin said the Pushkin Medal this year was awarded to the leaders for their “great contribution to the spread and teaching of the Russian language, preservation of cultural heritage and rapprochement and mutual enrichment of cultures of nations and ethnic minorities.”
The Pushkin Medal was established in 1999 by former Russian President Boris Yeltsin to commemorate the 200th anniversary of the birth of the Russian poet Alexandr Pushkin.
